Weekly Sales News – 15th December 2020

Top price per head £111.50 – Miss A Hedges & D Whyman

Top price per kilo 244p kg – A J Skinner & Son

Report on trade: Another good entry of sheep this week with not quite as many on offer but nationally big numbers have been out due to a little bit of uncertainty creeping into the minds of those who have big numbers to sell due to the Brexit deadline which is fast approaching. Nationally the bigger meated lambs were back a small bit on last week as the shutdown of the hospitality industry in London has in no doubt had an impact on demand but export grade lambs were in great demand and these were sold on a bit stronger trade. Best of these sold to 244p per kg from A J Skinner & Son for some shapey Texel cross lambs. Top spot in the heavy department was taken by N C & C G Hedges for the second week running at £111.50 for some 51kg lambs. Can they make it 3 weeks running though ……?

More fleshed lambs required to satisfy requirements of current buyers. Important to contact us regarding numbers so that we can notify the buyers.

Report on trade: Another good entry of ewes for the time of year with 700 penned, but trade has certainly just lifted a touch more and is bringing them out and scanned empty ewes are now definitely coming out. Several ewes made over £100 this week to a top price of £122.50 from the Hedges family with some super shaped and fleshed Charollais ewes. These were closely followed Kingswood Farmers at £121 and Miss J Davies at £120 with Texel and Beltex ewes.

Grazing ewes were well sold also well sold on the day for what was on offer with most trading from £50 to £70.

Report on trade: With over 1,000 stores penned again this week the trade was easier after last week’s flyer, but it must be taken into account that the quality of sheep on offer was considerably lower than last week. The uncertainty over the Brexit situation is starting to show signs of effecting confidence, hence the averages were back slightly. Best Suffolk crosses made to £83.50 from R & S L M Smith and continentals to £79 from A S Neaves & Son. Longer term sorts were trading generally between £65 to £75.

Store lambs will be offered for sale on the coming Tuesdays. As always please advise our auctioneers and fieldsman when you intend to send us your sheep.

Report on trade: A reduced entry and while prices were not as high as recent weeks this was a very decent trade with good premiums for the best. Top prices were in excess of 220p per kg with a Piedmontese cross heifer topping the market at £1136 (230p) from S Marsh and other top prices included Limousin cross steers £1488 (220p) and £1459 (224p) from W S Furnival (Brookland) and £1301 (223p) from W Alexander (Shoreham). Heavyweights grossed well to £1411 (185p) for a British Blue cross steer from P W & P Sim & Son.

Cattle will not be offered for the next two Tuesdays but, as always, it is essential that sellers keep in touch with our auctioneers and fieldsman. We are constantly monitoring demand from our buyers and endeavouring to match supply to that demand.

Report on trade: Good numbers once again but certainly a more varied entry with vendors obviously looking to tidy up their herds prior to Christmas. Trade was still good and competitive throughout but plain, old and tired cows are always going to be harder work at this time of the season. The few younger tidy feeders remain a very good trade. Interest in the fleshed cows, from beef or dairy herds continues to strengthen and certainly the New Year, with all that it might bring, will see continued strong demand as Covid determines ‘Stay At Home’ and ‘Takeaway’ preferences for processed beef.

Top beef cow included Sussex 135p (non FA) Lucketts Farm; 121p, 120p, £823 C E & W S Millson and 110p (non FA) Kent College; Simmental cross 130p, 116p (2) £918 W Hurley and 128p, J Prior & Son; Beef Shorthorn cross 124p, £946 B Sutton; Blonde cross 123p, 119p, £918 J Prior & Son; South Devon 115p, £896 (non FA) E & J Beer; Aberdeen Angus cross 113p, 112p, £1109 B Sutton and British White 108p, 106p, £684 (non FA) C T & P M Mannering.

We saw a decent trade for the black and whites with certainly more plainer cows on offer. Fleshed cows made 100p plus with younger types with weight to 125p. Secondary cows 80p to 100p with only the plainest, lightest or oldest below 70p.

Dairy tops included Holstein Friesian 125p, 107p, £879, £863 Leggat Farming; 107p, 104p, 103p, £880 Huddlestone Farmers; 106p J W Boyd & Sons and 104p, 102p G D & E E Field with Jerseys 87p,84p, £519 S E Lane & Partners.

Bulls were a bit steadier but only native types this week which included Sussex 96p, £1159; British Whites 83p, £786 and Aberdeen Angus 85p, £718.

Auctioneer: Tom Hamplett 07966 104532

Report on trade: Just a handful of store cattle this week which is to be expected for the time of year but nevertheless plenty of buyers were still ringside looking for cattle.

Top draw today was a 17 mths old Aberdeen Angus cross steer from E & J Beer which sold for £850 with their South Devon steers topping at £770. Wanstall Farms sold a pen of Blonde Aquitaine cross steers to £775 and heifers of the same breed to £600.

Top priced heifer on the day was J Cook with a Hereford x Friesian, 22 mths making £755.

Report on trade: This last sale before Christmas saw an improved trade for butchers pigs, good demand for nicely bred stores but demand for culls was limited We will offer a pig sale on Tuesday 29^th December but please ring for an indication of likely demand if you intend to send pigs.

The best finished pigs made to 122p per kg and grossed to £104.92 for a pen of 4 from S Scott & Son. Other top calls were 100p and £103.33 for 3 heavy pigs from Ms M Godden and 110p for lighter pigs from Brooker & Son. 60p to 92p and gross £60 to £88.50 covered the rest bar one pen.

4 Cull sows and 1 boar were penned with sows making 28p

4 Pens of stores again penned with young Pietrain crosses making £23 to £28 with 5 Gloucester Old Spots £15.

Remember please ring Mark 07741 845230 if you have pigs for 29^th December sale.

Hay, Straw and fodder

For a small charge we are quite happy to advertise your hay, straw and fodder for sale in this register which will now run until early May for further details please ring our auctioneer’s office on 01233 502222 or Mark Cleverdon 07748 202688. See later in this report for current availability.

Hobbs Parker calendars for 2021

We would advise that because of uncertainties over arrangements for auctions for the coming year, due to the continuing Covid pandemic, the Hobbs Parker calendar has not been published.

Livestock auctions will continue, as has been the case throughout the pandemic, on Tuesdays. Seasonal Friday sales, for sheep, will be confirmed in due course as will dates for farm machinery and collective auctions, both on farm and on site in the market.

South East Farmer and Farm Machinery magazines

The December edition of this popular regional farming magazine is now available here in the market. Hobbs Parker is a regular contributor to the editorial content.

In addition, our Property Consultants Outlook for Winter 2020 is included with this month’s publication and again are available here in the market.

Bovine TB Test Dates

It is very important that the date (first part of test) is recorded on cattle entry forms for all cattle sold from TB1 holdings. Any recent whole herd test dates from TB4 holdings must also be recorded. This information is critical to purchasers who may be required to test animals again and who will wish to avoid the risk of a false positive by testing again within the 60-day period.

Please advise of test dates when making cattle entries for cataloguing from TB! Holdings.

Miscellaneous livestock and general goods and services for sale and wanted ex farm

For Sale – a pedigree Hereford bull, 6 yrs old, on a Romney Marsh farm. Ring Mark Cleverdon 07741 845230

Wanted – up to 50 both spring and autumn calving beef suckler cows for a Kent grazing farm. Details of availability to Mark Cleverdon 07741 845230

Wanted – a pedigree Red Aberdeen Angus bull to run with Sussex cows on a Kent farm. Details of availability to Mark Cleverdon 07741 845230

Wanted – J Warnock and Sons have a full-time position for a general agricultural worker, duties to include, milking, yard work, tractor driving, basic animal husbandry, and farm and machinery maintenance. Driving license essential

For more information please contact Robert Warnock at r.warnock@hotmail.co.uk

Hay, Straw and fodder

For a small charge we are quite happy to advertise your hay, straw and fodder for sale in this register which will now run until early May for further details please ring our auctioneer’s office on 01233 502222 or Mark Cleverdon 07748 202688

Available now is a quantity of 2018 to 2020 crop hay, straw and silage on behalf of CTS Farms, located near Battle, East Sussex to include approximately 309 round bales of hay, 142 round bales of silage and109 round bales of straw. For further information, please contact Tom Hamplett on 01233 506201 or email; thomas.hamplett@hobbsparker.co.uk

Please note if you don’t wash out at Ashford

Drivers of vehicles leaving Ashford empty without cleansing and disinfecting MUST complete a declaration form obtainable from the Market Office.

You must then cleanse and disinfect as soon as possible and within 24 hours, or before using again for livestock.

This is a LEGAL responsibility and are subject to checks by Local Authority Animal Health and Welfare Officers

Help and support from The Farming Community Network

Farming Community Network (FCN) volunteers regularly attend local livestock markets and whilst we cannot be present at sales currently, our helpline is still open from 7am to 11pm every day, staffed by people who understand farming.

FCN is a charity and voluntary organisation that helps farmers to stay resilient. We provide practical and pastoral support to those experiencing difficulties in England and Wales.

During these challenging times we are encouraging everyone to think about their own physical and mental health and that of their families and staff.

We can help with contingency planning against the backdrop of the Corona virus outbreak and our FarmWell website (www.farmwell.org.uk) offers a wealth of free information about managing change and maintaining personal wellbeing.

The FCN helpline can be reached on 03000 111 999 or via email at help@fcn.org.uk. Confidentiality is assured.